10 Great Reads for Summer 2019
Fiction
The Gold Hour
by Beatriz Williams
A young woman arrives in the Bahamas in 1941 to cover the duke and Duchess of Windsor for a society magazine but stumbles into a world of spies, lies, and intrigue.
(William Morrow)
The Nickel Boys
by Colson Whitehead
The Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author imagines the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.
(Doubleday)
Hollow Kingdom
by Kira Jane Buxton
A pet crow fights to save humanity from an apocalypse in this uniquely hilarious debut from a genre-bending literary author.
(Grand Central)
At Briarwood School for Girls
by Michael Knight
When the threat of a theme park intrudes on the lives of students and faculty at Briarwood, unexpected alliances form.
(Grove Atlantic)
Non-Fiction
The Code
by Margaret O’Mara
An in-depth examination of Silicon Valley and the revolution that changed technology, economies, and the world.
(Penguin Press)
Three Women
by Lisa Taddeo
The author spent eight years researching the sex lives of three American women to write this book, sure to be one of the most talked about of 2019.
(Avid Reader Press)
Crisis in the Red Zone
by Richard Preston
The author of The Hot Zone details the gripping account of the Ebola outbreak of 2013-2014 and warns us that outbreaks continue.
(Random House)
The Ghosts of Eden Park
by Karen Abbott
The story of a prohibition kingpin taken down by a woman hired to the U.S. Attorney’s office right out of law school, told with all the detail and plot twists of a novel.
(Crown)
Barnum
by Robert Wilson
The first major biography of P.T. Barnum in a generation, and a vivid account of the greatest showman the world has ever seen.
(Simon & Schuster)
Featured image: Shutterstock
10 Best Winter Reads
Fiction
The Dreamers
by Karen Thompson Walker
A mysterious illness causes people to fall into perpetual sleep in this eerie and beautiful novel by the author of the best-selling Age of Miracles.
Random House
The Current
by Tim Johnston
In this thoughtful yet driving mystery, two young women plunge into a Minnesota river, but only one comes out alive. As she investigates, the layers peel back chapter by chapter.
Algonquin Books
That Churchill Woman
by Stephanie Barron
Winston Churchill’s American-born mother is the subject of this historical novel that reads like The Paris Wife meets PBS’s Victoria.
Ballantine
The Silent Patient
by Alex Michaelides
People will be talking about this debut thriller about a wife and husband with a seemingly perfect life, a shocking murder, and a therapist obsessed with uncovering the motive.
Celadon
Black Leopard, Red Wolf
by Marlon James
The Man Booker Prize-winning author has written an African Game of Thrones, the first in a trilogy.
Riverhead
Nonfiction
Dreyer’s English
by Benjamin Dreyer
Could this be the next Eats, Shoots & Leaves? Language lovers will cherish this witty guide to proper writing by Random House’s longtime copy chief.
Random House
Wild Bill
by Tom Clavin
He was literally a living legend, the first lawman of the Wild West, and this is his definitive biography by the bestselling author of Dodge City.
St. Martin’s Press
The Unwinding of the Miracle
by Julie Yip-Williams
When the author was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she set out to write her story for her two girls, creating this vibrant exhortation to live life truly, openly, and bravely.
Random House
Inheritance
by Dani Shapiro
In 2016, the author submitted her DNA to a genealogy website and learned that her father was not her biological father, setting off this memoir about identity, paternity, and family secrets.
Knopf
Maid
by Stephanie Land
This surprisingly beautiful, moving, and levelheaded memoir explores the contrast of a woman trapped in poverty while working as a maid for upper-class America.
Hachette